Boehner: Government—i.e. Taxpayers—Should Help Pay For Oil Spill  —  Congressional Democrats and the White House are toying with different ways to force BP to cover the costs of damages from the Gulf oil spill.  But they face stiff opposition from industry...and it seems leading Republicans.

Clyburn says S.C. Dem Senate candidate a ‘plant’; calls for probe  —  The man nominated as Democrats' candidate for Senate in South Carolina might have been a “plant,” a high-ranking Democrat suggested Thursday.  —  House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) called for in South Carolina …

Goat spears Rep. Weiner, draws blood  —  Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) was injured by a mohair goat on Thursday during a press conference to highlight subsidies to the mohair industry.  —  The goat nicked Weiner's right hand with one of its pointy, foot-long horns, hard enough to draw blood.

White House officials make nice with labor  —  In a private meeting currently under way with labor leaders, top White House officials are working hard to smooth over tensions in the wake of an anonymous administration official's claim that unions had flushed $10 million down the toilet in Arkansas …

ACORN employees tell FBI of deliberate election fraud, according to new documents  —  The radical activist group ACORN “works” for the Democratic Party and deliberately promotes election fraud, ACORN employees told FBI investigators, according to an FBI document dump Wednesday.

Don't count Lincoln out  —  There are, thank goodness, interruptions to every election-night narrative — upset victories, triumphant underdogs and, of course, wasted millions.  Tuesday's surprise was delivered, with the help of President Bill Clinton, by the ever-chipper and -unsurprising …

Breaking: Radical Union Organizer-Black Liberation Activist Slugs Tea Party Protester in Face (Video) ...Update: YouTube Removes Attack Video  —  More Hope and Change-  —  Barack Obama gave his marching orders: … Now it's playing out on the streets.  —  On Tuesday June 8 …

My mic was on?  Senate hopeful Fiorina mocks Barbara Boxer's hair, moans about Fox's Sean Hannity  —  Carly Fiorina spent her first day as California's Republican U.S. Senate candidate with one of her custom shoes planted firmly in her mouth.  —  Unaware of an open mic before a television interview …

SENATE REJECTS ‘BIG OIL BAILOUT’ — BARELY.... The very idea was absurd.  The government is going to have regulate carbon emissions to combat global warming, and if Congress refuses to act, the Environmental Protection Agency can use the Clean Air Act to move forward.

Op-Ed Contributor: Talking About Israel, Without the Clichés  —  THE Israeli raid on the Free Gaza flotilla has generated an outpouring of clichés from the usual suspects.  It is almost impossible to discuss the Middle East without resorting to tired accusations and ritual defenses …

McCain Calls for Regime Change in Iran  —  In a speech delivered today at the National Endowment for Democracy, Senator John McCain called for regime change in Iran: … The Arizona senator went on to challenge President Barack Obama to be on the right side of history:

Sarah Palin's breasts  —  Sarah Palin's breasts are suddenly the objects of great interest on the left, not because of their obvious appeal, but as an opportunity to accuse her of having enhanced them with implants.  This controversy follows an earlier obsession with Sarah Palin's medical care …

Scott Tops Mccollum In Florida GOP Gov Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Dem Senate Primary Race Too Close To Call  —  Political neophyte Rick Scott has surged to a 44 - 31 percent lead over Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum in the race for the Republican nomination for governor …

The Daniels Truce — By: Ramesh Ponnuru  —  From Andrew Ferguson's excellent profile of Mitch Daniels: … A lot of people will cheer that statement: Truces are usually popular, and most people see the economic issues as more important than the social ones at this moment.  But I'm not sure how a truce would work.

Frugality Fatigue: Upper-Income Spending Surges 33%  —  Overall spending increases 14% even as middle- and lower-income spending is unchanged  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Upper-income Americans' self-reported spending rose 33% to an average of $145 per day in May — up from $109 per day in April 2010 and May 2009 …

Boris Johnson tells Barack Obama: Stop bashing Britain  —  Senior Tories today warned Barack Obama to back off as billions of pounds were wiped off BP shares in the row over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.  —  Mayor Boris Johnson demanded an end to “anti-British rhetoric, buck-passing and name-calling” …

Nikki Haley and the New Racial Face of the South  —  Blogs and Stories  —  I do wonder, sometimes, whether America's toxic black-white history and its legacy create a need for a “third way”—for emblems of the Other that are not part of the toxic mix, especially in the South.

The Trailer For Glenn Beck's New Book Is Just As Nuts As You'd Expect (VIDEO)  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  For some reason, Glenn Beck has written a thriller, ‘The Overton Window.’ And for some weirder reason, it has a trailer (though to be fair, this is more like a teaser).

Firestorm over column on gays in Catholic paper  —  Linked same-sex parents with porn  —  A contributor to the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston said yesterday he regretted a portion of a column that has infuriated gay Catholics in the region.  —  In the column, published last week …

BP and Officials Block Some Coverage of Gulf Oil Spill  —  When the operators of Southern Seaplane in Belle Chasse, La., called the local Coast Guard-Federal Aviation Administration command center for permission to fly over restricted airspace in Gulf of Mexico, they made what they thought was a simple and routine request.

Did Harry Reid get a softball opponent?  —  Harry Reid is looking at life from a whole new Angle.  —  Only weeks ago, the Senate majority leader was a dead man walking, facing a seemingly inevitable defeat in his reelection battle in Nevada.  But then came Tuesday's primary …

House Targets Underwater Homeowners  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  The House GOP launched an assault Thursday on homeowners who walk away from underwater mortgages, arguing that such foreclosed-on former homeowners are using the money they save to dine out and go on cruises.